Pokemon Gold, Silver and Crystal Wiki Guide

Return to Goldenrod

After you beat Pryce, a panicked Prof. Elm calls you with urgent news: Team Rocket has taken control of the Goldenrod City Radio Tower! Bring a well-balanced team of your best Pokemon because you'll need to battle your way through a horde of Rocket trainers to make it to the executive posing as the station director, who gives you the Underground Key.

With key in hand, head over to the Underground and you will be able to open the locked door there and head downstairs. Who do you find there at this inopportune moment, but your old pal "???." He has added the Dark/Ice-type Sneasel to his team now, but you should still have no problem giving him the beat-down again with your team. After you defeat him, you will be presented with a series of switches to flip (guarded by Rocket Grunts, of course). Depending on the order in which they are flipped, certain doors will open and close, revealing more trainers as well as item balls (containing Full Heal and Smoke Ball).

To get on with the game, however, you need to flip the switch farthest from the stairs first, followed by the next nearest one, and finally the one nearest the stairs. Three more trainers stand between you and the real director of the Radio Tower. Rescuing him will score you the Card Key that gives you access to the locked door on the third floor of that building. Before heading back there, you might want to grab the TM35 (Sleep Talk) and Max Ether here, as well as a quick dash upstairs to the department store basement, where you can find the Amulet Coin, Ultra Ball, Ether and Burn Heal. In order to get all the items out of this area, you will need to leave and re-enter several times; the boxes will shift around giving access to different areas.

Now that you have the Card Key, you can head back to the tower and finish off the last of the Team Rocket trainers there. The last few battles here are not easy, and they feature some new Dark-type Pokemon, so make sure you have some strong Bug and Fighting moves on your side. When you finally drive the Team out for good, talk to the director and he will reward you with a Wing, the type depends on the version of Pokemon you are playing: Rainbow Wing in Gold or Silver Wing in Silver. These are the key items for capturing the coveted Ho-oh or Lugia, respectively. Continue to talk to the grateful employees as you leave for more rewards, including a Pink Bow and TM11 (Sunny Day).